More than half of people who died of coronavirus in England and Wales had a disability, new figures revealed today.
According to the Office for National Statistics, 59% of all deaths involving
Covid-19 from March 2 to July 14 were of disabled people.
But only 16% of the population have disabilities, according to 2011 Census data, meaning they have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
After adjusting for region, population density, socio-demographic and household characteristics, the
coronavirus mortality rates between disabled and non-disabled people was 2.4 times higher for females and 2.0 times higher for males.
The ONS data does not break down deaths by individual disabilities, which could range from a long-term mental health condition, arthritis in old age or a physical handicap from birth.
Disability under the Census is defined as a health problem which limits a person’s day-to-day activities over a period of at least 12 months.
For women over 65 with a severe disability, the mortality rate was 589.63 compared with 187.95 for non-disabled women.
Out of the 19,405 deaths of females aged 65 and older from March 2 to July 14, the proportion of disabled people was the largest, accounting for 67.2% (13,048).
In contrast, among the 2,766 deaths of males aged 9 to 64, the share made up by disabled people was the smallest at 38.5% (1,066).
